


Go to Bed

by waterbird13



Series: Tumblr Fics [459]
Category: The Martian - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort, Developing Relationship, Multi, bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11050368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbird13/pseuds/waterbird13
Summary: Mark finds that he's struggling to sleep alone.





	Go to Bed

It’s a nice guest room, Mark thinks absently.

He’d lived with his parents for exactly four months after NASA released him. Four months to the day was when he decided it’s embarrassing to live back home, his parents have been well assured he’s alive and kicking, and, frankly, there is a reason he moved out twenty years ago.

Beth and Chris just bought themselves a condo back in Texas, and it has a guest room, and they’re good people. They give him a room. And he’s selfish, probably, likely, but some part of having a room in their house settles him in a way having his room in his parents house never did.

But it’s too big. Too quiet. The bed is too soft, there’s no life support noises, and it all feels…surreal.

Mark hasn’t slept in three days, which is how he justifies why the hell he thinks it’s a good idea to knock on Beth and Chris’ door.

“I…” It’s like he suddenly remembers social decorum. “I’m sorry, fuck, Chris, it’s three am or something and here I am, and I….”

“It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep either,” Chris interrupts. He jerks his head over his shoulder. “Neither could Beth.”

“Bed’s too big,” she says.

Chris smiles, small and sweet and it always makes Mark’s stomach swoop when he sees it. It’s Beth’s smile. “We were…hoping you’d come. Help us with that. If you’d like,” he adds hurriedly. “You don’t have to…”

“Are you…sure?”

Beth groans. “Get in bed, idiots.”

So they do, and it’s not even that awkward, the negotiation of space. Beth’s right. The bed is big. Like they bought it expecting to need a lot of space.

Maybe they’re were just sick of narrow astronaut bunks.

But, when Beth throws an arm around him, he thinks, maybe not. Maybe they had another reason.

“Beth…”

“Shhhh,” she scolds. “Sleep time now.”

Mark smiles. Unconsciously, he presses a kiss to her mussed hair. “Alright.”

Chris fits in behind him, and Mark almost doesn’t know what to do in the middle, except his body does. It relaxes, letting weeks–months–worth of tension go. “Just sleep,” Chris whispers to him. “We’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

Beth is already asleep, and Mark drops off not long after, sure Chris isn’t far behind him, and the bed doesn’t feel too big anymore.


End file.
